Court’s first deadline in landmark SC school-equity case will pass unmet

Lawmakers have until Monday to ask the S.C. Supreme Court to reconsider deadlines that court imposed on the state to produce legislation to improve public schools.

The first of those deadlines will pass unmet Thursday.

Last month, the state’s highest court gave legislators and school districts, who sued the state for more money, until Thursday to pick experts to evaluate legislative proposals to improve the state’s K-12 public schools. The court also gave lawmakers until Feb. 1 to offer legislation.

Lawmakers said those deadlines would be impossible to meet, adding they would ignore them.

A spokesman for House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said legislators thought they had until last week to ask the court to rehear or reconsider the deadlines. But, after historic rainfall and flooding struck the state earlier this month, lawmakers — with the school districts’ consent — asked the court for more time to make those requests.

Last Thursday, the court agreed to accept a request for a rehearing through Monday, days after the Thursday deadline for school districts and the state to choose their experts.

Carl Epps, an attorney for the school districts, said he was not sure if the court would impose a new deadline for choosing those experts. “We’re prepared to designate an expert, but we will not do that unless we have an agreement by the state to do the same.”

Last November, the court ruled for the school districts, finding the state has not provided children in impoverished, rural districts with the quality of education required by the state Constitution.

State House and Senate leaders set up committees to review the court’s concerns and propose legislation to address them. Lucas planned to have proposals ready by January.

State Senate President Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said Tuesday the Legislature intends to address school-equity issues. But, he added, it will do so through the normal legislative process.

Leatherman said the flood recovery now is a top issue facing lawmakers in January. But, he added, legislators still plan to come up with education proposals. “It won't change that priority.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 7:29 AM with the headline "Court’s first deadline in landmark SC school-equity case will pass unmet."